The Soldier Vote War, Politics, and the Ballot in America [Hardcover]

The Soldier Vote tells the story of how Americans in the armed forces gained the right to vote while away from home. The ability for deployed military personnel to cast a ballot was difficult and often vociferously resisted by politicians of both political parties. While progress has been made, significant challenges remain. Using newly obtained data about the military voter, The Soldier Vote challenges some widely held views about the nature of the military vote and how service personnel vote.

The Soldier Vote fills a key gap in our knowledge of the workings of American democracy. Both historical and contemporary, it examines the changing and imperfect fit between a national army and voting laws that are largely shaped by the states. There is much value here for anyone wishing to know more about the political rights, views, and participation of the men and women in our uniformed services. - Alexander Keyssar, Stirling Professor of History and Social Policy, Harvard University, and author of The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States (2009)

This is a thoughtful study of the American military's experience with voting. I learned a great deal from it, and anyone seeking to understand this important dimension of civil-military relations will find this an invaluable reference. - Peter Feaver, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, Duke University

Donald Inbody has written a superb account of the history, politics, and current reality of voting by US military officers and enlisted personnel. Through its combination of close historical study, political analysis, and original empirical research, The Soldier Vote documents the uneven evolution of suffrage for military personnel from the founding to the present, discusses the controversies and politics surrounding voting by military personnel, and reveals what major issues remain to be addressed. Voting by active duty personnel constitl3-